Marian Spain has been appointed as the new chief executive
of Natural England, taking the post on a permanent basis
after serving as interim chief executive since December
2018.
Natural England chair Tony Juniper said:
Marian has shown an unrivalled commitment to protect and
enhance our natural environment along with excellent
leadership skills.
It is so important not only for Natural England but also
our environment to have someone with Marian’s passion and
experience to lead our teams at this vital time for
conservation. She will ensure that the organisation can
meet the challenge of restoring nature, which lies at the
heart of the government’s environmental policy, as the
country recovers from the impact of coronavirus.
Environment Secretary said:
I want to thank Marian for all her excellent work over
the last year.
As we focus on setting environmental policy and farming
support outside the European Union, Natural England has
never been so important. I am looking forward to working
further with Marian as we link together our wide range of
initiatives to restore this nation’s nature.
Natural England chief executive Marian Spain said:
It has been an honour to lead Natural England’s
exceptional, talented and passionate teams and I am so
proud to be able to continue.
Every day our people work incredibly hard to make life in
our country better. The future of Natural England is an
exciting one as we build the partnerships we need to help
nature thrive, so that we have a healthier planet and
healthier people.
Marian Spain was appointed interim Chief Executive by the
Natural England Board in November 2018, taking up the role
in December that year.
She was chief executive of Plant Life as well as holding a
number of senior roles with organisations in the
environment sector, including the Environment Agency and
Countryside Agency – a predecessor body of Natural England.
